Tranquil Darkness
by MellowMellow
Summary: Years have been passing and Amu hasn't seen Ikuto in years. She is confused about what she wants in life and eventually makes the wrong choices... Ikuto is supposed to be back, but is he in time to save her from falling down? AMUTO. Rated T for now. I hope the characters aren't too OC
1. Chapter 1 - It is not ending

` _**Tranquil Darkness**_

Chapter 1: it is not ending, everything is starting

It was a cold day in November and Amu was staring out of her window. Raindrops were falling down and it somehow gave off a dark aura. The soft tickling of the drops hitting the roof felt really calm though. This tranquil darkness suited her. Somehow, it made her feel better. In this cage that others would call her life, days like this were happening quite frequent. Thinking days, to sort everything out. Days in which the pink-haired girl tried to find out what she really wanted with her life. She just turned 18. Graduated from highschool, but with no idea what to study, she decided to take a year off to find out what it is what she really wants to do. Or maybe…. Trying to find out who she really is.

After her 18th birthday, Ran, Miki, Suu and Dia disappeared once again, since she turned into an adult. Even though they are not literally around anymore, Amu still feels their presence in her heart. It helped her to go on with life, into the next chapter. Things have changed so much the past years. The guardians all went their own ways. Yes, she still hung out with them every now and then, but most of them went off for college. Nagihiko was still around though. He was studying the art of traditional dance at the local dance academy – one of the best in the country if I may add – as expected of him.

These days, Amu worked part-time in a grocery store. Just to keep herself busy and to make her parents happy. She didn't like the idea of sitting around all day, doing nothing while everyone was doing their best, working hard. In the background there was this violin song playing. It was her favourite. The one Ikuto used to play for her… She sighs. It has been quite a few years since she last saw him… even though he promised he'd be back. With a beating heart, she shook the thoughts away. It was pointless anyway. There was no use in hoping he'd come back. He'd probably found some other girl to tease, to play around with. A western girl. It made her tummy twist and turn a little. Such an unpleasant feel. She bit her lip and tried to concentrate on the paper in front of her. Amu had been trying to write things down lately. It was hard for her to talk about her feelings with others… especially her thoughts concerning the blue kitty cat that vanished out of her life. So, she figured it might be a good idea to express it elsewhere. In stories. Hidden in stories. She stroke the small drawings on the side lines of lined paper. Her friends, her eggs. Those were the good old days.

"Now it is all ending…" she whispered to herself. The thoughts hurt her. It was crushing her insides. She threw the paper on the ground and jumped up. This was definitely not the way she wanted to feel today. Not at all. With her honey-coloured eyes she looked at the clock. It was almost 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Nagihiko was still in school, practicing and so was Ami. The rest of her family at work. It was quiet in the house. She decided to go out a little. Get something to eat, maybe some inspiration… or something to do. She slipped on a pair of black wellington boots. Those had a small pink strawberry on each side. Found an old umbrella in the closet. Old school flowery pattern. She kind of felt like an old grandmother with this umbrella, but she didn't really care. Not her problem.

Once arrived in the center of the city, after strolling around for awhile, she noticed that there weren't many people outside. It was so quiet. It shocked her a little. Amu bought some chocolate cookies for Ami – who was studying very hard right now for her exams. Amu wanted to cheer her on a little. Swaying the plastic bag around, Amu was humming a tune. Somehow the fresh air did her much good. It was freeing. She looked up at the sky to find out the rain has stopped and the clouds looked much more white. The whole scenery seemed to have change.

"Ouch…." In her distraction, she fell on the ground after bumping into something. Well, better say someone. A boy with deep brown, almost black hair and brown eyes looked at her and reached out his hand to help her up.  
"I'm so sorry" Amu pronounced her words quickly and full of shame. It was quite a stupid mistake in her opinion as she took his hand and stood up straight again. The boy shook his head.

"don't worry about it little one. Happens." His deep voice penetrated in her ears. It sounded so soothing. Kind of like he was having a cold or something.  
"You hurt anywhere?" She asked a little concerned, eying the bruises in his neck, which were almost hidden by a big , black sweater. He shook his head again. The boy looked like he was her age, even though she had never seen him around. That was strange. Even though she'd love to hear him out about all his personal life, something else bothered her a little more.

"Wait little one?! What makes you think you could simply call me like that?" Amu blurted out the words, even though she didn't want to say it. The boy chuckled.

"You'll know soon enough, Amu" And he turned around, as if he wanted to walk away but he didn't. Why did he know her name? He didn't even seem familiar. He continued to speak. "If you really are that bored as you look, meet me tomorrow night in the central park." He took a deep breath, and before Amu could say something "11 o'clock sharp. Brown benches in the back. I might have something that could interest you."

Amu opened her mouth. "Who do you think I am? Do you honestly think I'll just meet up with a random stranger like that? I mean – " He stopped her long speech about meeting up with unknown people. "I'm Noctis." And with that, he walked away, just like that.

The strawberry head was baffled. What just happened? She couldn't exactly comprehend what was going on… who was this boy? This Noctis? Why haven't she seen him before? Thoughts ran through her mind like crazy, as she slowly walked home.

She was quiet during dinner. Her family was chatting happily, but Amu was still caught up with what happened before. Debating to go or not… Should she ask someone for their opinion? It was a mystery. When she got upstairs, to take a shower she saw a note lying down on the bed. A familiar handwriting…. It looked like Ikuto's handwriting…

"I'm back.

It is not ending… Everything is starting."


	2. Chapter 2 - Everything is starting

A/N: I am not sure if Amu would react like she would in this chapter. Would she be so anxious just at the thought of Ikuto? That is the question. Yet I put that part in anyway.

Please note that I am not a native English speaker. Please correct me if my grammar is being awful!

**Chapter 2 – Everything is starting**

"I'm back.

It is not ending… Everything is starting."

Amu stared at the note for a while. Seconds passed. Maybe even minutes. A total loss of the time. Her heart beating, so loud. Why in the world would he come back now? After all these years? Why couldn't he just visit and show his face? A faint angry feeling flowed through her blood, spreading in her body. She felt her body starting to shake. It suddenly turned cold. Like all the life, all the warmth was leaking out of her body. Amu shivered. Her heart rate going up more and more. Breathing going faster. She dropped down on the bed, completely paralyzed. This can't be happening. Not when she gave up all hope. It's a lie. Who the hell is playing this sick joke on her? Who? All kinds of poisonous thoughts ran through her mind. It drove her crazy. She felt like crying, but couldn't. The blanket on her bed didn't give her any warmth. Amu tried to calm down, and after a few minutes the rate of her heartbeat had dropped a little. She could breathe a bit better. Everything was fine as long as she didn't think about the note… or Ikuto. No thoughts about that… at all. It made her feel so anxious. Almost scared. Scared of being disappointed again, scared of being left alone.

Time slowly passed and Amu started to feel a little better. She tried to take a nap, but couldn't. It was already midnight. The 18 year old plucked herself up from her bed and slowly walked downstairs, with all the energy she had left. Maybe it was a good thing to drink something. Or to get something to eat. She was about to enter the kitchen, but something stopped her. She saw a dimmed light coming from the half opened door. The soft voices she recognized as her parents filled the air.

"What do you mean… Gangs?" The tone in the male voice – her father – sounded rather serious. It was silent for a few seconds.

"I am not sure what they meant with that either… Supposedly, there are a few gangs, groups of young people, possible criminals terrorizing the city… They say that's the reason that there is more police out there." It is true that there were some drastic changes in the city lately, but Amu never thought it was that bad.

"So… WE SHOULD DEFINITLY KEEP AMI-CHAN INSIDE. NOOO. I don't want her to get hurt, my little baby bird!" Her father almost shouted out those overly protective words. Amu could almost feel her mother sweat drop.

"Maybe it is enough to keep an extra eye on Ami, and on Amu too." Said her mother softly. Amu almost got shivers from it. This would mean less privacy and less freedom. It is not like she had anything to hide though, but she fought so hard for all the freedom and rights she has right now in this family, simply with her cool attitude. It wasn't that hard really. Her parents were easily deceived with her cool and spicy mask after all. Amu decided to skip her little late night snack, in order not to bug her parents and went upstairs again. She tried to focus her thoughts on what her parents just said, instead of thinking about this note of a certain perverted boy. So instead, she was thinking about the gangs around in the neighbourhood. It's funny she has never seen any gang. Or maybe she just had a different impression of gangs. Would they be like how there were on tv? Amu was kind of curious to know more about it. It was really rare to hear this stories in the area the Pinkette lived in. Come to think of it, she can't remember any story like this. Somehow, even though she was curious and slightly excited, it scared her a little as well.

Amu stumbled into her room and was about to jump in her bed, but looked at it carefully first. She almost thought that Ikuto would be there… But he wasn't. How silly, thought Amu. Why in the world would he be here anyway… He never comes when you expect it. At least, that is how Amu remembered their meetings of years ago. Always so random. Trying to distract herself again with the story about the Gangs, Amu fell asleep at last.

The next day, Amu woke up early to spend a day at her part time job. It was a busy day at work today, which made the time fly by so much faster then usual. It made her find her pace back a little. No time to worry about weird notes and strange men on the streets, inviting her to meet up… She still was a little confused about that. Why would he know her name? Why would he ask her to come with him, to meet up? It was an answer that Amu didn't seem to reach, it looked so far away. As she walked home, lost in thoughts she thought of something… the note, the guy. All in one day. Is there a chance that it is all connected to each other? Maybe… the thing that 'might interest' her wasn't something, but someone… Maybe it was this person she had been missing all along.

Maybe it was Ikuto Tsukiyomi.

He was back after all. Or so he said. A little excitement, along with anxiety danced in her body. That'd be amazing and terrifying at the same time. What would she do if it was actually him? What should she say? Welcome back, thanks for never contacting me? Amu took a deep breath.  
"I guess I'll have to go tonight…" she mumbled to herself.

Once arrived home, the time passed by way to quickly for her liking. She tried texting Rima, asking what to do… even though she didn't mention Ikuto. Rima would go bersek if she heard that he was back. If she heard the name at all. After all the suffering Amu went through, it was hard for the petite blonde young lady to look at Ikuto in a normal way. There were so many days in which Amu locked herself up, not talking to anyone… feeling depressed. Just because she missed him. He was the only one she ever fully opened up to. It gradually got better, or so it seemed for the outer world. Amu was able to cope with the feelings better.

When it was about 10;15, Amu couldn't take it anymore. There was only one way to find out if it was Ikuto in the park tonight, and that was by going there. She sneaked out of the house, slowly and quietly. She didn't want her parents to hear, especially with the recent developments in town. Her heartbeat went up everytime she made the smallest noise. A squick of her shoes, the crunchy noise of her coat. It scared her a little, but it felt good.

Somehow… the adrenaline made her feel alive

Even if it was just a little.

She opened the door slowly and carefully, watching out no one was watching. She walked away from the Hinamori residence, to the right… navigating to the central park.

Or so she thought.

In a flash of blue appeared and hugged her forcefully from behind.  
A familiar scent surrounded her, while a hand covered her mouth, making her unable to scream.

Her heart beating, so loud. Even aliens in outer space could probably hear it, somewhere in the background of their shenanigans.

"Shhh… don't say a word. Just calm down, Amu." That voice.

The voice she dreamed of, for so many years. Was it a hallucination? Please tell me it is reality… and not such some weird dream again… please. Thoughts ran through her mind, like crazy.

"I know what you were trying to do, Amu…" His deep voice gave her the chills. She still wasn't able to turn around, to face this mythical person that once was a part of her life.

"Don't go there… Stay with me please…"

- **Thank you for reading this! I really appreciate it. I'd like to give you a question; Would you rather have the former guardians appear often, or OC's like Noctis?  
Noctis will be a part of the story, but in the end, it is still about Amu and Ikuto in any case. The question is just how much he'd appear and influence the storyline ^_^o **


	3. Chapter 3 A midnight confession

A/N: Thank you for the reviews and support! I really appreciate it ^_^ Will try my best to keep you entertained, haha.

Can't wait to finish the story, even though I am just starting it! Writing it somehow makes me feel so happy! Have you guys ever experienced a feeling like that, about something?

I personally feel that the previous chapters have been very Ikuto centered. It is not really a problem for Ikuto lovers perhaps, but I feel like I should give Amu some deeper thoughts. Some meetings with friends and other activities to do, instead of thinking about this kind of hot and awesome cat boy.

In the end, I don't care if this story becomes popular or not, if there is at least one person that enjoys reading it, that makes my day already. I'm currently trying to make my chapters longer, to give to story a little more dept. And of course, make the guardians appear for the first time in this story, sometime soon.

Tips and hints are always welcome! I love to develop my writing style constantly.

Hope you guys enjoy it!

Love,

MellowMellow.

**Chapter 3 A midnight confession**

_"I know what you were trying to do, Amu…" His deep voice gave her the chills. She still wasn't able to turn around, to face this mythical person that once was a part of her life._

_"Don't go there… Stay with me please…"_

There almost was a nervous tone underneath the calm.

Amu finally gained the strength to turn around and blinked a few times.

Where her eyes deceiving her? Or was it the truth. She felt her hands shaking. Well, scratch that, she felt her whole body shaking. This wasn't natural, this wasn't what supposed to happen.

A blue haired young man looked at her, smiling. Such a cheeky smile.

Ikuto.

Finally, he was here, after all those years.

With her trembling body, there was only one thing she could think of doing. Well, perhaps, only one thing she was able to do. In a fast pace, she buried her face into the chest of this blue haired young man. His warmth was surrounding her, giving the young strawberry a feeling of peace. She was home.

Ikuto wrapped his arms around her, firmly. Amu felt a small tear, out of happiness perhaps falling down her cheek.

"Missed me so much huh?" This voice of his. He was in the picture after years for only 1 minute and already able to bring out the tease. Perhaps some things never change after all. Amu was a little startled and tried to escape from his grasp.

"Hey let me go! Who said I missed you? Who would miss you in the first place?" She almost yelled. A little nervous. There was no way Ikuto wouldn't be able to tell that this was a lie and Amu knew that too. Yet she did it anyway. It was some sort of natural response to his existence, in her opinion. She couldn't avoid it.

He tightened the embrace and chuckled.

"Too bad miss strawberry, I'm not letting you get away anymore." The last sentence was almost a whisper. It sounded kind of sensual. Amu felt her heart race and a blush appearing on her usually pale face. And felt a little weird for thinking of Ikuto's voice as sensual. She stopped struggeling.

They stood there for quite some time. Just like that. Hugging. Embracing each other. Amu had no idea how much time they had spent in the end, just standing there… in quite an interesting position she'd never expected to execute with the blue haired perverted cat named Ikuto. She still couldn't believe it for a hundred percent. It was just so unreal.  
This boy was actually here…

Ikuto raised his voice. " You know, as I much I'd love to touch you all day long… " He paused. Probably waiting for the easily irritated pinkhead to punch him, which she did. Along with an annoyed sigh.

"Pervert" she mumbled softly in his chest. He slowly let her go.

"Let's go for a walk?" Amu nodded. They slowly strolled down the streets. Amu felt a little uncomfortable. She kept having the feeling that he'd vanish again. Or that this wasn't reality. It still hadn't reach her mind yet, somehow. She decided to walk close to him, so that he wouldn't be able to get away so easily. Even though that sounded extremely possessive, it was the truth. Her truth. Every now and then, their hands accidentally brushed against each other.

Even though the silence wasn't so uncomfortable, not at all actually, Amu decided to break it.

"So… when did you get back? Did you manage to find your father in the end?" she spoke calmy, even though it definitely didn't feel like that from the inside. Hail the cool and spicy mask. It never really vanished and was quite handy in situations like this.

Ikuto started speaking after a few seconds.

"I found my father eventually, yeah. Took a few years though." He paused and stopped walking. "Found out that he build up a pretty good life for himself in Europe these days. Decided to stay with him for a while… He needed it. Was better to lay down low for the time being anyway… to avoid Easter company." He shrugged a little, pronouncing the name of this horrifying company they fought with for so long in a very soft manner. As if no one as allowed to hear it.

"But, I'm back and that is what matters." Amu nodded and spoke. She noticed he didn't answer the question of how long he was back… but she ignored it. She knew more than anyone that Ikuto wouldn't tell people things

"Yeah, I guess you are right about that. " She replied. "So… what are you going to do now? Where do you stay? Does Utau already know you are back?" Again, she bombed him with questions. Not only because she was curious, but also because she simply liked the sound of his voice. He hadn't spoken to her in years, so in a way, he had something to make up for. A smile appeared on his face. A genuine smile. Amu remembered how that used to be so rare… A smiling Ikuto. Ikuto Tsukiyomi, a smiling kitty. She liked this version better than the gloomy version. He seemed much more alive than she'd ever seen him. Well, except that time in the old amusement park perhaps.

"So greedy for information." He pinched her cheek. "I like that side of yours." And with Amu's face, flushed red again he started telling about the current situation.

To summarize it, he basically said that he had gotten himself a place – not that weird. His mother was still married to his stepfather, so it's only imaginable he wouldn't like staying at their place very much. The blue haired boy recently found himself a job and was still sorting things out.

Amu was relieved hearing that he'd been doing well and was able work things out at his own pace.

Eventually, they kept talking and talking that night. Catching up. Ikuto was in particular curious about all the guys she dated… Amu felt a little uncomfortable talking about that, since the reason she didn't date anyone – not even gentle king Tadase – was the blue cat himself. She didn't tell him about that part though.

Some hours later, he walked her back to her home. The girl hoped her parents didn't notice she was gone, otherwise she would be in huge trouble…Amu slowly opened the door and tried to sneak in. Ikuto, protective as he sometimes can be was still standing behind her, making sure she would enter the house safe and sound. She looked up to see two pairs of eyes that looked quite familiar were piercing through her. Her mother and father were standing in the door opening.

"Amu." Mrs. Hinamori spoke in a really serious manner. Ouch. That was not what she expected.

"Where the hell have you been all night? You know that the streets are dangerous, yet you went away, all by yourself? Do you have any idea how worried we were about you? Do you?" Her mother started ranting, panicking like any mother would.

It scared the strawberry girl. She wasn't used to this. Not at all.

Before Amu could speak up to apologize for her behavior, or at least say anything, someone else spoke for her.

"I am very sorry, mister and Mrs. Hinamori." It was Ikuto. He placed his hand gently on Amu's shoulder.

"It was my fault. I really wanted to see her." Her parents seemed a little surprised. They too hadn't seen or heard from Ikuto in ages. What a big reunion today…

It was silent for a while.

"So she was with you the whole time?" Even though her mother sounded strict, Amu could spot a sign of relief in those hazel brown eyes of hers.

Ikuto nodded. "Yes. I ensure you nothing happened that you wouldn't approve either." His gaze pointed at Amu's father, who was standing behind Mrs. Hinamori, in horror like usual.

"I… well, even though this might not be the right time, but since we are here anyway…"

Ikuto stumbled out his words. His hands were shaking a little.

"what are you doing Ikuto?" Amu spoke slowly, wondering what was going on in that weird mind of his.

He took a deep breath, briefly looked at Amu and somehow regained the power to speak again. This time, a little bit more like he'd do.

"I love daughter."


End file.
